Zoom Zoom Moon

Posted by Della Thomas on January 22, 2011 · 3 Comments 

I absolutely love photography and, for Christmas, I got a new 300mm zoom lens for my Nikon D5000.  I also have a new-found love in astronomy, so I’ve started to combine these two passions of mine.

I’ve had this iPhone app for a while now and I was so excited to read on there that we were due a full moon on the 19th January – my chance to try out my new lens on something really interesting.  Having chatted with Kash about this, he explained that crescent moons make far more striking images because the shadow emphasises the craters on the surface.  He also drew my attention to this very useful website about moon photography.  Despite that particular night having a crescent moon, there was too much cloud cover and so I couldn’t practice taking the shot.  Each night thereafter I expectantly watched out for the clear skies.

On the 18th January, the day before the full moon, the skies were breathtakingly clear, even for London.  I could see so many stars, including the whole Orion constellation, not just the asterism of Orion’s belt and the moon hung so vividly in the night sky.  I just had to get the shot and here it is, my first ever close up photo of the moon:

 

Nikon D5000 DSLR 300mm (cropped image)

I couldn’t believe it.  I know it’s not the best resolution and the image is not amazingly crisp, but I was so shocked that my camera could create such a stunning image.  I can’t wait to see the results of a crescent moon – watch this space (pun definitely intended).

If you think that this shot of the moon is impressive, you haven’t seen anything yet.  Check out Kash’s photos that he has taken using his telescope and compact camera; there all in his blogpost here –  you’ll be blown away (well, I certainly was).

Filed under Astronomy, Photography, Quick posts